For a counter-point to this thought, take a stroll to your local library or magazine store and pick up the current issue of Harpers. They've reprinted a convocation speech delivered by
Mark Kingwell. Smooth things, he argues, are tools of The Man and will only lead us down the road to greater homogenization and servitude. He also recently wrote a piece for Saturday Night extolling the virtues of concrete, unfinished of course. Unfortunately, SN has revamped their website
without first finishing the archiving system.